Raccolto — Restaurant in Seattle

First of all, I hate to write this review because I want this restaurant to be successful. But it was a very disappointing experience and I hope the owner reads this review.

Service: We were a party of 5, Sunday night, not that busy. After being seated and provided menus, waitress did not return for 15 minutes to take drink orders. We wanted to order starters and were then advised that they wanted us to order the whole meal at once. Then there was another substantial wait before the wine arrived and orders were taken. We were advised to order family-style and to order one more dish than the number of people. So at this point we are nearly 1/2 hour in and just ordered. After the starters arrived, there was a very long wait – over half an hour – before the pastas arrived. During this time, no one came to check on drinks, provide some bread, etc. When someone finally came to fill water and we asked about the wait, he said "I shouldn't tell you this but the guy making pastas doesn't really want to be here…" Towards the end of the meal what appeared to be the head waiter or manager came over, and they comped both pasta dishes.

Food: They are positioning as high–end Italian, as evidenced by the menu descriptions and pricing. However, while the food was good I don't think it lived up to that. The focaccia appetizer might have been 4 pieces of bread from QFC – dry and nothing special, with a tiny amount of pickled vegetables. For $8 – that should have been free or $2. The pasta was good but a little overcooked. The sauces/preparation were tasty but not amazing. The worst disappointment was the king salmon, which was overcooked – a travesty for any restaurant offering a wonderful piece of fish. Finally, the size of the dishes are quite small – if you tell people to order family-style then there should be sufficient food correspondingly.

Perhaps our experience was an anomaly – I hope so. Without a doubt getting and keeping staff for restaurant is hard these days, but when paying for a higher-end dining experience, the service and the food should meet expectations...

Let's start with the positive! The service was lovely. We were greeted immediately and sat/served promptly. Our server was attentive and kind throughout the meal.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was fine. Definitely leaned heavy into minimalism, but could have used a little more warmth overall.

We started with a sparkling wine and then had a red with our meal. Both glasses were fine paired with what we ate. Their wine menu was limited, but adequate.

Let's move on to the food. Starter was pretty good. We had the crudo and the focaccia. No complaints about the crudo, but the focaccia was seemingly store-bought and oddly dense.

The pasta was disappointing. We ordered the garganelli. The pasta didn't seem house-made and the mussels were out of their shells and oddly textured leading us to think they were not fresh or canned. I had a mussel that clearly had either some shell bits or chunks of sand. The sauce was uneventful.

Let's move on to the protein. We ordered the steak for 2 that ran us $105 (market price). To start, we were not asked for a steak temperature. Because of this, we assumed it would be cooked medium rare to medium as this is restaurant default. Instead, we got 26oz of un-seared well to medium well steak at best. The meat was fajita quality and served with grilled peppers, onions, and salsa. Luckily, one of the staff voluntarily brought us their favorite salsa verde which helped with the overcooked steak.

To sum up, if you're going to spend almost $300 (with tip) for an Italian dinner for 2, I would recommend...

Racolto offers classy Italian fare at the upper end of the West Seattle Junction. I could eat their homemade pepe e cacio (black pepper pasta - get it with the egg option) pretty much every night, and all the pastas reflect their focus on from-scratch preparation. I can't speak to their red meat offerings, but their chicken and fish entrees have been consistently good, along with their fresh salads. Soups tend to the rich & creamy end of the spectrum, so I recommend getting getting one and splitting it to avoid heavy cream overload before you make it past the appetizer phase. The cocktail and wine list is modest in scope but pairs nicely with the food. The space itself is fairly small, with dining on two levels. In the warmer month(s) the front windows open and there's some limited outdoor seating. It's a good place for special events (I had my last birthday dinner here), especially if you can fill up the 2nd floor, turning it into a semi-private space. One caveat: There is no A/C, so the 2nd floor can become warm (generally nice in the winter, less so in August). Service varies between good and great; water refills upstairs can sometimes be a little slow, but the staff is knowledgeable and friendly. Despite the West Seattle locale, expect to pay downtown Seattle prices for the upscale experience Racolto offers. No parking lot, but street parking is generally pretty easy. Not a great place for kids. There's a small bar in the back that can also accommodate...